Prologue

            Before time, before life, before the waking of the world, there was nothing but darkness. In that darkness lived a celestial power known as the Great Dragon. So it happened that the Great Dragon took in a great breath and, by breathing it out, called life from the emptiness. That life took form as a realm with a single sun and a solitary moon, a realm filled with trees, waters, and all sorts of living creatures.

            After the fish, birds, and beasts of the land had been given life, the Great Dragon gave rise to the sentient races. The first were the Sorcerers. Born of the very earth, the Sorcerers were able to call upon the four forces—fire, water, earth, and air—and cast them to different uses.

            The second race to be born was the Elves. Also born of the earth, the Elves were similar in build to the Sorcerers but their ears ended in points. While bearing no mystic abilities like the Sorcerers, the Elves were extremely agile and fast, seemingly connected to the forest and all incredibly skilled with various weapons. However, the Elves were a very peaceful people and seldom made use of their combative skills. They only fought if war was brought upon them.

            The third race born to the realm was the Dwarves. While they were the third race to be born of the earth, the Dwarves were the exact opposite of the Elves. While the Sorcerers were brought to life through nature itself and the Elves through the trees, the Dwarves were brought to life through stone. One Dwarf stood at half the height of an Elf. Rather than peaceful, the Dwarves were very short-tempered. The Dwarves were miners and smiths, able to gather any resource of the earth and fashion it a new and unmatched way, whereas the Elves lived off the land. The Elves lived in the forests while the Dwarves dwelt in mountain caverns. The Elves fought only when necessary and made use of graceful techniques and swift weapons like bows and blades; the Dwarves fought whenever they were threatened and made use of powerful blunt weapons like hammers and axes. Though the Elves sought peace with all creatures, the Dwarves turned away from them and their way of life, starting a rivalry that would last for centuries.

            The fourth race of the realm was the Nines. Similar in appearance to the Sorcerers, the Nines also held mystic powers. However, instead of calling on the four forces, they bore nine powers, attributes enhanced beyond those of the other races—strength, speed, intellect, sight, hearing, scent, taste, feeling, and connection. The race was formed in nines and every family in their race would have nine children. They were also given the task of acting as the shields to the gates of the nine under-realms, where dwelt the horrific Daedra who would decimate the realm should they ever be freed and given their full strength by the nine jewels, which were scattered across the realm.

            The fifth race that came to be was the Orcs. The Orcs were similar in form to the previous races but were nothing similar in appearance. No different in stature, the Orcs instead sported blackish-green flesh, razor sharp teeth, and bright red eyes. All of the Orcs were fierce brutes with the power of battle, but none of them sought anything close to peace.

            The sixth race was the Mermaids. Unlike the first three races, who were born from the earth, these creatures were born of the sea. Blessed with unmatched beauty and the most enchanting song known to the realm, the Mermaids were entirely creatures of the ocean, with the head and torso of women but the tails of fish and the ability to breathe underwater. However, the all-female race was not immortal and would soon die out; so the Great Dragon gave to the Mermaids the ability to reproduce by shaping the sand into the form of a baby Mermaid, pressing her blood into it, and singing the Watersong, a magical song that would bring life to the child. The Mermaids could sing any song ever made as well as a variety of tunes that had magical effects, the darkest of which would steal the will of whomever heard it.

            The seventh race was the Fairies. The Fay were born in a much different way from the other races: they were each crafted of a different source—earth, light, fire, water, even the moon. Each Fay was Elven in appearance and bore their own individually-designed wings. The Fairies also bore the ability to shrink to a miniscule size, giving off a light while they did so and releasing as they flew a mystic commodity known as Fairy dust.

            The eighth race was the Starlings. Born of the night sky, the Starlings were psychic and could change themselves into stars, which could move at the speed of light. The Starlings did not live on the land of the realm with the other races but in the sky.

            The ninth and final race born that day was unique. They were not born immediately as the eight previous races but were formed from nothing into eggs. After three days had gone by, all of the eggs hatched. Inside were scaly reptiles, each with a different color of scale. Each of them also had clawed feet and talons, knife-sharp teeth, spiky tails with enough strength to split open boulders, snake-like eyes that could see perfectly in all environments, lungs with the power to breath fire (and, to some, frost), and great leathery wings that would lift them high into the air. These creatures that communicated without words were the first of the realm's Dragons, said to be fashioned after the Great Dragon Himself, though no living soul ever knew.

            The Great Dragon watched over the world as the nine races began to thrive. The first era of the Realm of Everwood was one of peace and prosperity. The nine races lived together, though they kept to their own territories whenever necessary. It was in that time of peace that a group of performing artists from each race came together to form the Band of Traveling Minstrels, a tradition that would never fade from the realm. But after 400 years had passed, the first era began to dwindle and great tragedy began to strike.

            At that time, the Orcs had clans. In clan Bur-Karrz, there was an Orc prince named Nar-Groth. Nar-Groth Bur-Karrz was a warrior and cared only for battle. He had been searching for a mate since he came of age but he found that no Orc woman suited his needs. One day, he was wandering through the wilds and he saw a Ninth woman by the name of Yonora Halliwé. The Nine maiden was battling with a bull that had killed several of the Orcs and she managed to dispatch it. Taken by her battle skill and her beauty, Nar-Groth approached her and proposed. The Ninth knight was honored by the proposal but knew nothing of the prince but what she had heard of his monstrous ways in battle. Knowing that her people would never accept their union and she did not belong among the Orcs, Yonora refused the offer. However, Nar-Groth was absolutely infuriated at the refusal, for he knew he would be disgraced if he returned to his clan without a mate now and no one had ever denied him anything before. So while she was searching the corpse of the bull, Nar-Groth located her supplies and poisoned her waterskin with Nightfall.

            Nightfall was a flower that bloomed in Everwood, growing berries that had mystic side effects on whoever consumed them. When a living being ingested Nightfall, the next time they fell asleep, they would remain asleep for an indefinite period of time, only to be woken by the most horrifying nightmares imaginable. This was what Yonora drank in when she drank from her waterskin. As soon as she had done so, she began to take the spoils of her hunt back to her village, Nar-Groth following where she could not see him. That night when she fell asleep, Nar-Groth stole into her chambers and took her from her village. When she was awakened by the horrific night-terrors, she found them come to life: she was a captive in the stronghold of the Orc clan Bur-Karrz. Bound by the curse of the Bur-Karrz shaman, she could never leave the stronghold until the day she died.

            Yonora was forcibly married to Nar-Groth and bore him nine children in according with her race's ways. The nine children born to the unnatural couple were the first of a new race: the Rogues. The Rogues bore the appearance of Nines, though with eyes the dark colors of Orc eyes and silvery flesh. The Rogues also bore the nine enhancements of the Ninth race but at a higher capacity due to the warrior nature of their Orc blood. The Rogues became the tenth race of Everwood and would soon begin to grow as the other nine races had.

            But before this race could truly come to fruition as the others had, the true tragedy came to be. Yonora was not only a Ninth knight but a Ninth princess. When she disappeared, the entirely of the Nine race was in mourning, searching desperately for her. One day, a Ninth knight happened upon one of the Rogues borne by Yonora and her loath husband Nar-Groth and knew that the child could only be the spawn of an Orc prince and a Ninth princess. Once the news reached the Nine Councilmen (the rulers of the race), they called on the Orcs and demanded the return of their stolen princess. Nar-Groth, however, was quick to wrath and considered their cries an act of war. The Nines, unaware that Yonora's curse could not be broken even by the shaman who cast it until her death, took him up on his offer.

            The Nines and the Orcs were at war for four years. At last, Nar-Groth decided that the Orcs would need help in winning the war and called upon the shaman once again. This time, Nar-Groth and the shaman summoned the Shadow-Beasts. At once, Goblins, Trolls, Ogres, Shadow Knights, and Shadow creatures of all sorts came to the Orcs' aid. But in turn the Nines summoned the aid of the other seven races, who stood at their side. In the wake of the battle, the Sorcerers pulled all their strength together and cast a mighty spell upon the whole of the Orc army. The Orcs and the rest of the Shadow-Beasts were cast into the Shadow Reach at the edge of the realm, bound by a border which no living creature could cross. The Nines then turned to rescue the Rogues from the Orc stronghold, but Yonora was already dead, slain by some unknown attacker (some even said she had taken her own life) with an Orcish blade.

            With the rise of the Rogues and the sealing of the Shadow Reach was born the second era. This age was not so fertile an age of peace as the previous but rather of unrest. Given the Orcs' treachery and new place amongst the Shadow Races, the other eight first races of Everwood had great distrust for the Rogues. The Rogues, though not so vile as their forebears, were exceptional, unmatched warriors and held honor very high. They would not be so quick as the Orcs to rush into battle and, unlike the Orcs, would never kill their own kind. Though the other races respected the race as a whole, they never truly believed the Rogues above taking the dark path of their father-race.

            But the Rogues that birthed the second era were not the only new race to become of it. The Orcs killed in the Ninth War and many other creatures of the races that had been slain became Lost Souls and Pales and were caught halfway between the realm of the living and the after-realms. Those who surrendered to the Shadows rather than to the after-realms or the Pale existence were turned into Wraiths, able to steal souls and devour the weak. Three spiteful Mermaids surrendered their souls for the ability to wield the song that would steal the will of those who heard it, turning themselves into the first Sirens. A band of Sorceresses began to wield the art of Dark Magic and became Witches and Gypsies. One of the Witches cursed five Dragons with shreds of her Dark Magic, turning all five into Hydras. Two infections were set loose on the races—vampirism and lycanthropy—creating a new race of darkness and a curse upon specific members of all races; both infections could be spread through blood pollution. A foolish band of Starlings bonded with a dark star and became Dark Stars themselves, creatures that would steal from fate itself. Several of the Moon Fairies began to let the darkness within grow and hid away in a glade, seeking the end of the sun.

            With the rise of all these dark races over the course of the second era, the nine chief races of Everwood began to worry that a new war would arise with enough force to dismantle the border to the Shadow Reach and destroy the entire realm. But it happened that seven Dragons came forward and, pleading with the Great Dragon for the strength to face the threat, connected themselves to the realm itself and gained its power. Becoming protectors of the realm, they guided the lost and aided those in need. They guarded ancient secrets and ancient wonders. When the time finally came that the dark races sought to free the Shadows, the seven Dragons connected fully to the realm and banished the dark races to various confines, becoming, in the process, the very power they held. The seven Dragons ascended to the Outer Plane and became sovereigns of the twelve elements of the realm and of all the other Dragons. They became servants, messengers, and agents of the Great Dragon himself. The earth-bound races of Everwood named them their guardians still—the Dragon of Luck, the Dragon of Strength, the Dragon of Wisdom, the Dragon of Heart, the Dragon of Peace, the Dragon of Truth, and the Dragon of Destiny. Thus began the third era.

            Now the third era was peaceful like the first but also fearful like the second, for the Shadow Reach was locked but the dark races raised amid the second era still were free. The races lived in harmony with one another but in fear of the threats they faced outside of their territories. A century passed in this manner before a great event took place.

            At that time, there was a young Elven man fond of adventure beyond the woods. As he ventured forth into foreign territory, he came upon a young Sorceress. When the two met, they instantly fell in love. After meeting every night for some time, the Elf resolved to marry her. But he knew, after the events that birthed the Rogues, their races would never accept a union between two breeds. It had happened in the past that a Rogue would fall for a Sorcerer or a Nine would fall for an Elf, but always they were taken from each other. So the two star-crossed lovers decided to run away together and fled to the territory at the center of the realm, just north of the Sorcerers' province. Here the two were free to be joined in marriage.

            Shortly after, the Elf learned that his Sorceress wife was with child and began to build a castle for them to raise their family within. By the time the child was born, the castle was built. But the castle was big enough to be seen by a Sorcerer scout some time later, who quickly informed the eight Sovereign Sorcerers. They made their way to the castle and discovered who was residing within. They quickly called on the Elves to join them and the two tribes made their way to the castle to end the union. But when they finally came to the castle, the Elf and Sorceress had already birthed three children. The Elves and Sorcerers agreed to allow the union as the matter was out of their hands now, but they asked that the young parents and their children remain confined to this territory and call it the province for the new race that had been bred by the two.

            The three children born to the Elf and Sorceress—Farinor, Tellek, and Moonrose—were indeed a new race. Each of them was born with eyes as clear as if they were blind, yet all three saw perfectly. Finally, in their respective 14th years, each of them gained an extraordinary power and their eyes changed to a unique hue. The new race was named the Ensoes. A kingdom quickly began to grow around them. Every year, a select few Sorcerers (even a handful of Elves) would come to join the race in the new kingdom. It was in this way that the three Ensoes met their loves and led their race to grow.

            But one Sorcerer was not there to aid the growth of the Ensoes' piece of the realm. Rather than bringing prosperity, he sought ruin. For he was a dark Sorcerer, taken over by the path of Dark Magic, and he desired nothing more than to rule in eternal night. So he deceived the Elf King into believing he was a friend, while he spent his days plotting to devise a ritual that would depose the Elf King, destroy his crossbred descendants, and leave his Sorceress Queen powerless. Finally, after almost half a century of planning so and learning more about the new breed, he performed a spell that allowed him to temporarily converse with the Daedra, who granted him the knowledge and power he needed to overthrow the order of the new realm.

            So one night, the full moon on the rise as the sun began to set, the Dark Sorcerer set his plan in place. Casting a spell on the palace that left those within powerless to him, he captured the three first Ensoes, took them to an empty field, and tied them down with Daedric binds that they could not escape. By the time his spell over the castle began to wear off, his new ritual had already begun. Using the combined mystic power of the five crystal beings, he wove together a spell that would seal the moon in the sky and prevent the sun from ever rising again. All that was needed now was to sacrifice the three greatest of the Enso race—the bravest, Farinor; the strongest, Tellek; and the wisest, Moonrose.

            The Sorcerer had almost completed his spell when the Elf King came and broke his children's binds and the Sorceress Queen followed and dismantled the Sorcerer's spell. The spell collapsed and ate through the Sorcerer, tearing apart his connection to the Daedric realm. But still he would not allow his foes victory. Taking the last of his magic out of his body, he cast his final spell, a combination of the last two he had cast. Unaware of the implications of this incantation but fully aware that it drained the Sorcerer's life force to death's door, surrendering him completely to the Daedra's wrath, the Elf King, Sorceress Queen, and Ensoes returned to their castle. But at the exact moment the final member of their company, Tellek's eldest son, reached the gates of the castle, the sun set completely from the sky and the moonlight touched his flesh. The moment it did, the Sorcerer's spell unlocked the Enso race's greatest weakness.

            Tellek's son succumbed to madness, losing control of his power until it eventually killed him from within. The moonlight had broken through the magic inside of him and caused it to tear through his psyche and his soul. From that moment on, the inhabitants of the castle knew it was true: the moonlight was poison to the Ensoes. If ever they allowed it to touch them, they would surely die and take several innocents with them, or else they would simply die slowly and painfully.

            As the third era continued to pass by, the Ensoes continued to grow. But now they grew in fear. Every night, they would lock themselves inside and close all of the curtains, for they knew the moonlight would destroy them. Centuries dawned and drew to a close. The Elf King and Sorceress Queen descended into legend, followed by the three children who gave birth to the race of the Ensoes. Three cities were built in the Ensoes' realm—Kolia, Konden, and Liya—with the Castle at their center. A college was built by the Castle for those who wished to study magic—the College of Archaeus. Mystic energy congregated amid their borders. One such energy was what began the chaos.

            One day, a group of young Ensoes, just come of age, stumbled upon a fountain. Curiously, they each took a drink from it. Immediately, their eyes took on their hues and their powers presented themselves at full strength. But their hands, having touched the water, fell under their own powers. The Enso with the power to speak to plants felt the blood in their hands turn to chlorophyll and the flesh on their hands turn green, the Enso with the power to bend light watched as their hands became like mirrors, and the Enso with the power to turn things to dust lost their hands completely as flesh turned to ash. The fountain was the Fountain of Power, its waters capable of strengthening the magic within a being. While this could not remove their aversion to moonlight, the Ensoes would be saved from many troubles by this Fountain.

            However, the other races quickly received word of the existence of the Fountain of Power. Each of them desired that something else be done with it. The Rogues and Dwarves wanted it for their own, the Elves and Sorcerers wanted its power harnessed, the Dragons and Starlings wanted the Ensoes to be freed, the Mermaids and Fay wanted the Fountain's water freed, and the Nines wanted the Fountain completely destroyed. This disagreement began the downward spiral. After 20 years, it began the Great War.

            The Great War was one of the worst catastrophes since the Ninth War—the worst catastrophe in the history of the realm. Every race in the realm sought to win the battle, even employing the aid of beasts such as Giants and Griffins and even Cockatrices. The Great War lasted for five years, during which times thousands of each race were killed, including several of the generals and rulers. King Eron of the Ensoes was lost in the war, leaving his wife Queen Alla to rule the realm and watch over her four children alone. It was at this point that the Enso Queen called a summit and a decree was passed. The Order of the Sapphire Swords was raised to guard the borders of Enso territory and ensure that no one but the Ensoes ever used the Fountain and the Ensoes could never attack the other races or vice versa. The races reluctantly agreed and the decree was passed. Only under circumstances of realm-wide urgency could anyone but the ever-peaceful Band of Traveling Minstrels cross the border. Thus began the fourth era.

            It is in the fourth era of the realm that our story truly begins. This story begins with a young Enso girl. A girl named Destiny Shiloh.